Department for Transport

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much money his Department has spent on each (a) consultant and (b) consultancy firm to support the HS2 project in each year since 2010-11.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The table below provides information on the total expenditure incurred by the High Speed Rail Group on consultancy in support of the HS2 project. Financial YearExpenditure2011-12£2,3102012-13£4,803,5402013-14£5,352,7922014-15£10,563,7802015-16£12,045,0482016-17£10,366,8232017-18£9,999,662The amount spent on consultancy reflects the need to utilise the best specialist expertise to deliver the Government’s biggest investment in transport infrastructure in generations. All consultancy contracts are competitively tendered to ensure value for money and every effort is made to transfer skills to permanent staff and ensure reduced reliance on external contractors. I am unable to publish a breakdown to your request as this information is commercially sensitive. The Department for Transport has a duty to manage procurements to deliver the best value for the tax payer, and publishing the breakdown requested would be likely to negatively prejudice the effective and efficient outcome of these procurement competitions.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

New Businesses: Finance

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to her Answer of 15 November 2018, Official Report, column 428, on encouraging women to start their own businesses, if she will provide further information on the £20 million available for local business networks; and what guidance the Government provides on how to apply for that funding.

Kelly Tolhurst: The £20m funding will support local peer-to-peer networks focusing on business improvement so that thousands of business leaders can share expertise on leadership, business development and technology adoption. Further information on how business leaders can access the support funded by the £20 million will be provided as the programme is put into place next year.

Department of Health and Social Care

Primary Health Care: Attendance

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to address the effects of missed appointments on primary care services.

Steve Brine: We recognise that missed appointments are a waste of National Health Service resources. We believe that encouraging patients to use the NHS sensibly and responsibly is the right approach and we are supportive of local schemes to highlight the number of missed appointments to their patients. However, it is ultimately a matter for the local NHS and primary care providers to decide how best to raise awareness and implement measures to reduce missed appointments. Primary care providers are encouraged to offer patients different ways to book appointments, send appointment reminders by text messages, and make it quick for patients to cancel or re-arrange appointments e.g. through the use of an online service.

Mental Health: Females

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the relationship between women’s mental health and experience of violence and abuse.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department recognises the potential effect that experiences of violence and abuse can have on mental health. I co-chaired the Women’s Mental Health Taskforce which brought together experts on women’s mental health and key national organisations accountable for policy, commissioning and delivery of services. The Taskforce explored the links between mental health and abuse for women. A key priority for the Taskforce was the promotion of trauma-informed, and gender-informed, approaches to service delivery, including for people with mental health issues who have been affected by violence and abuse. The Taskforce has completed its work and will publish its final report soon.

Smoking: Health Services

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that the tobacco industry is excluded from funding or helping to provide stop smoking services at a local government level.

Steve Brine: The United Kingdom Government is a signatory to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), Article 5.3 of which commits Parties to protect public health policies with respect to tobacco control from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry. The Government and local authorities take very seriously their obligations under the WHO FCTC, including the commitment under Article 5.3. The Government has endorsed the Local Government Declaration on Tobacco Control, which was launched in 2013.

Meningitis: Vaccination

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number children that have received the meningococcal conjugate vaccine injection in each of the last three years.

Steve Brine: There are two meningococcal conjugate vaccines that are used in the United Kingdom. The meningococcal ACWY vaccine (Men ACWY) is given to adolescents and the meningitis C and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine is given between 12 to 13 months of age. The number of children receiving the Hib/Meningitis C vaccine by age two for the last three fiscal years (2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18) is 1,828,100. The MenACWY data are not available in the format requested.

Psychiatry: Training

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to increase the level of the recruitment and retention of core and higher trainees in psychiatry in England; and if will he make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: As set out in ‘Stepping forward to 2020/21: The mental health workforce plan for England’, published in July 2017, Health Education England (HEE) is working with the Royal College of Psychiatrists to address the fill rates in psychiatry specialty training. This includes offering doctors greater exposure to psychiatry during foundation training, greater flexibility throughout training and reducing attrition rates. Supported by HEE, the Royal College of Psychiatrists launched the ‘Choose Psychiatry’ campaign in 2017, encouraging doctors to take up psychiatry for their specialty training. Building on the ‘Enhancing Junior Doctors’ Working Lives’ report, HEE will explore flexibility throughout the training pathway. HEE and the College will work together with trainees to understand what makes them leave throughout the course and attract more trainees for mental health during key transition points, such as from core to higher points in specialty training. The Government is rolling out 1,500 new medical school places in England, 630 of which were taken up this September. The allocation of 1,000 of these places was prioritised to universities that can best meet the Government’s objectives, one of which was increasing the number of students who go on to work in psychiatry, with a focus on priority locations including rural and coastal – and included five brand new medical schools in England.

General Practitioners: Recruitment

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to increase the number of full-time equivalent GPs in England; and will he make a statement.

Dr Dan Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on the plan to provide an additional 5,000 full-time equivalent GPs in England by 2020; and if will he make a statement.

Steve Brine: In 2015 the Government set the ambitious target to recruit 5,000 additional general practitioners (GPs) by 2020. This was double the growth rate of previous years, but it showed a commitment to growing a strong and sustainable general practice for the future. NHS England and Health Education England (HEE) are working together with the profession to increase the GP workforce. This includes measures to boost recruitment, address the reasons why GPs are leaving the profession, and encourage GPs to return to practice. The number of doctors entering speciality training has been increasing year on year, this year HEE recruited the highest number of GP trainees ever - 3,473 GP trainees against a target of 3,250, a 10% increase on last year. In the short term, NHS England’s International GP Recruitment programme is bringing suitably qualified doctors from overseas to work in English general practice. There is also a broad offer to support GPs to remain in the National Health Service including the GP Retention Scheme, the GP Retention Fund, the GP Health Service and the Releasing Time to Care Programme. It is also now quicker and easier for GPs to return to the NHS through the National Induction and Refresher Scheme. Greater skill mix is also key to releasing capacity in general practice. We have committed to investment in the multidisciplinary workforce in general practice. As of June 2018, there were over 3,000 clinical staff, excluding GPs, working in general practice since 2015; consisting of 500 more nurses and 2,800 more other direct patient care.

Diabetes: Bexley

Sir David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in (a) Bexley borough and b) the Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Steve Brine: This information is not held centrally.

Medical Treatments

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NICE’s highly specialised technology programme, if he will publish the (a) quality adjusted life year gains and (b) incremental cost effectiveness ratios according to (i) pharmaceutical company estimates, (ii) expert reference group estimates and (iii) NICE-agreed rates for (A) technologies with final guidance since 2015, (B) technologies with draft guidance since 2015 and (C) the comparators used for each assessment.

Steve Brine: The information requested can be found in the attached table.



PQ196812 attached table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 23.08 KB)

Orphan Drugs

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of NHS expenditure on medicines with an orphan designation in England in each of the last three financial years.

Steve Brine: The Department has made no such estimate. The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Mental Illness

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report entitled Health at a Glance: Europe 2018, published by the OECD on 22 November 2018, whether he plans to respond to the findings on the estimated direct and indirect costs of mental health.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department does not plan to respond to the report.

European Medicines Agency

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether contingency planning and expenditure by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on any systems or processes, including software is being incurred on systems or processes which will be redundant in the event that an agreement is reached that includes continued full co-operation, based on regulatory alignment, with the European Medicines Agency after the UK leaves the EU.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has undertaken contingency planning in the event the United Kingdom leaves the European Union with no deal. MHRA currently interacts with 40 systems and processes. The total estimated cost to replace them is expected to be £9.3 million on completion.

Drugs: Regulation

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what other aspects of medicines regulation including regulation related to patient safety is postponed due to contingency planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is committed to making sure that patients continue to access safe and innovative medicines and devices, and regulation related to medicines and patient safety have therefore not been postponed because of contingency planning. For example, we have continued with the implementation of the Falsified Medicines Directive, which is designed to help identify and remove falsified medicines from the supply chain, ahead of coming into force in February 2019, and continued to make the necessary preparations to implement the new Clinical Trials Regulation and Medical Devices Regulation, both due to be implemented before the end of 2020.

Diabetes

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to classify diabetes as a clinical priority.

Steve Brine: Preventing diabetes and promoting the best possible care for people with diabetes is a key priority for this Government. The Government’s mandate to NHS England for 2018/19 includes an objective for NHS England “to lead a step change in the National Health Service in preventing ill health and supporting people to live healthier lives”. This includes people with diabetes. The NHS has been asked to set out a long term plan for the future of the NHS, setting out ambitions for improvement over the next decade, and plans to meet them over the five years of the funding settlement. Further investment in diabetes prevention and treatment will be determined in the context of the long term plan, which is due to be published later this year.

Abortion

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the recent Coroner's verdict in the case of Aisha Chithira, whether his Department will take steps to ensure that clinical staff providing abortion services are fully trained in post-operative observations.

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the recent Coroner's verdict in the case of Aisha Chithira, if his Department will review the methods used for late-term abortions.

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the recent Coroner's verdict in the case of Aisha Chithira, if he will ensure that all independent abortion providers give appropriate aftercare to women.

Jackie Doyle-Price: In line with guidelines published by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and Care Quality Commission regulations health professionals working within abortion services must be appropriately trained and experienced. Abortion service providers should ensure staff have the right competencies, knowledge, qualifications, skills and experience, including where appropriate in post-operation observations, to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of all who use the service. The guidelines and regulations are available at the following links: https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/abortion-guideline_web_1.pdf https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-providers/regulations-enforcement/regulation-20-requirements-relating-termination The methods used for legal late term abortions in England are safe when performed by staff with the relevant skills, training and experience in line with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists guidelines. All independent sector abortion providers must be approved by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and meet the conditions set by the Department’s Required Standard Operating Procedures which are attached. As set out in these procedures, providers are required to have protocols covering the support that should be in place for women following an abortion procedure. Where a pre-existing physical or mental health condition may exist, then the provider must ensure that there are clinical pathways in place for access to appropriate medical back up services, if needed.



PQ197359,360,361 attached document
(PDF Document, 626 KB)

Prostate Cancer: Surgery

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS has any plans to introduce a new surgical procedure for treating prostate cancer.

Steve Brine: No such plans currently exist.

Erenumab

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the NHS has to make erenumab available to people with migraines.

Steve Brine: The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing Technology appraisal guidance on the use of erenumab for preventing migraines. NHS commissioners are legally required to fund drugs and treatments recommended by NICE’s technology appraisal programme. In the absence of positive guidance from NICE, it is for commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund this treatment based on an assessment of the available evidence.

Fertility: Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that fertility treatment is available to older women.

Jackie Doyle-Price: It is the Government's policy that clinical commissioning groups should have regard to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline on the assessment and treatment of people with fertility problems when commissioning services for which they are responsible. This includes the recommendation in the guideline that three cycles of in-vitro fertilisation be offered to qualifying couples where the woman is under the age of 40 and one cycle where the woman is between the ages of 40 and 42.

Hypertension: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment the NHS has made of the link between the use of blood pressure drugs and lung cancer; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: NHS England has made no assessment of the link between the use of blood pressure drugs and lung cancer.

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency: Finance

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding for contingency planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal will be made available to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for the development of new processes or systems including software.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department continues to work with partners across Government, industry and its arm’s-length bodies (ALBs), including the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), to ensure that required systems and processes, including software, will be available on Exit Day. Support is being provided including European Union exit funding for contingency preparations where it is necessary and the Department is engaging with its ALBs including MHRA to ensure their needs are met. The Autumn Budget 2018 confirmed an additional £500 million of cross-Government EU exit funding for 2019/20, meaning the Government will have invested over £4 billion in preparing for EU exit since 2016.

Patients: Travel

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the finding of CLIC Sargent in their report entitled Are We Nearly There Yet?, published in September 2018, that only six per cent of parents have received help from the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme, what steps his Department is taking to ensure all families on low incomes have access to financial support to manage healthcare-related travel costs.

Steve Brine: The Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme is set up to assist those on low income or in receipt of certain qualifying benefits to obtain assistance with travel to hospitals. Information on how to obtain assistance with travel costs is widely available from National Health Service organisations including general practitioner surgeries, hospitals, clinical commissioning groups and the NHS website. Outside of the NHS, information may also be obtained from Healthwatch, Citizen Advice, cancer and other charities.

Multiple Births: Antenatal Care

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November to Question 186351 on Multiple Births: Antenatal Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that maternity champions highlight that work in each NHS Trust.

Jackie Doyle-Price: As outlined in the Safer Maternity Care action plan in 2016, networks such as Maternity Clinical Networks are most effective when built on supportive multi-professional relationships and collaborative working with a focus on specific initiatives to improve care quality. Therefore, Maternity Clinical Networks were asked to designate a Maternity Safety Champion to act as a local quality improvement adviser, coach and conduit for sharing learning arising from national and international research and from local investigations or initiatives. Maternity Safety Champions at every level – trust, regional and national – are working across regional, organisational and service boundaries to develop strong partnerships and to create the professional culture and leadership needed to deliver better care. They play a central role in ensuring that mothers and babies, including in cases of multiple pregnancy, receive the safest care possible.

Diabetes: Nottinghamshire

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of people in Nottinghamshire who have diabetes.

Steve Brine: The information requested is not centrally held.

Diabetes and Obesity

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he last met the National Clinical Directors for Obesity and Diabetes for NHS England.

Steve Brine: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has not had any meetings with the National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes for NHS England.

Cancer: Health Services

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the progress report for 2017-18 on Achieving world-class cancer outcomes: a strategy for England.

Steve Brine: NHS England is currently working on the third progress report into the delivery of the five-year cancer strategy for England. While reporting on the progress that has been made, the report will also look to the future and the fit between the cancer strategy and the long-term plan for the National Health Service. The report will be published in due course.

Sickle Cell Diseases: Prescriptions

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to include sickle cell anaemia on the list of conditions for which medical exemption certificates for NHS prescriptions can be obtained.

Steve Brine: The Department has no current plans to do so. Extensive arrangements are in place to ensure that people can access affordable prescriptions.

Department for International Development

Marie Stopes International

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Government funding her Department plans to allocate to Marie Stopes International in each of the years from 2018 to 2022.

Alistair Burt: The Department for International Development’s budgets for future years have not been finalised.We expect to continue to fund Marie Stopes International (MSI) through a mix of central and country level programmes. For example, as part of our recently announced Women’s Integrated Sexual Health programme, MSI has been awarded a contract of £77 million for the period 2018-2021.

Department for Education

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional financial support his Department makes available to (a) primary and (b) secondary schools with high numbers of SEND children.

Nadhim Zahawi: Local authorities are required to provide schools with sufficient funds to enable them to provide additional support up to the value of £6,000 for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This is provided through the local school formula. When the costs of supporting an individual pupil are more than £6,000 per year, the local authority provides top-up funding from its high needs budget. It is for the local authority to determine what level of top-up funding is required for each pupil.In addition, local authorities have the discretion to give schools additional funding from the high needs budget, for example to support schools which are particularly inclusive of pupils with SEND. Authorities in England are planning to provide £41 million to primary schools and £16 million to secondary schools in such funding, in addition to the funding provided through their local formula and through top-ups.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what financial support is available to schools from local authorities to support SEND children.

Nadhim Zahawi: A mainstream school’s funding is calculated through a local funding formula decided by the local authority in consultation with its schools. Local authorities are required to provide schools with sufficient funds to enable schools to meet the additional cost of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities, up to £6,000. The local formula often uses factors such as low prior attainment and free school meals to do this. The local authority can also give additional funding from its high needs budget to schools that have a disproportionate number of pupils with SEN whose additional support costs up to £6,000.When the costs of additional support required for a pupil with SEN exceed £6,000, the local authority should allocate additional top-up funding to cover the excess costs. This funding comes from the local authority’s high needs budget. The local authorities’ high needs funding allocation also covers the costs of provision in special schools, and alternative provision. Nationally, high needs funding has risen from a total of £5 billion in 2013 to just under £6 billion this year. Allocations to individual local authorities for this year can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2018-to-2019.

Special Educational Needs: Southampton

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department has allocated to Southampton City Council to support children with SEND needs in each of the last eight years.

Nadhim Zahawi: Local authorities are legally required to provide schools with sufficient funds to enable schools to meet the additional cost of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), up to £6,000 per annum per pupil. Within their local schools formula, local authorities use factors such as low prior attainment and free school meals to do this. This funding is provided from the local authority’s schools budget.When the costs of additional support required for a pupil with SEN exceed £6,000, the authority should also allocate additional top-up funding to cover the excess costs. In addition, the local authority pays the full costs for all children who are placed in special schools. This funding comes from the authority’s high needs budget.The department has allocated funding in separate blocks for schools and high needs since 2013-14. Southampton’s allocations for each of these years are shown below. These were taken from the dedicated schools grant allocations for each year. Allocations for 2018-19 can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2018-to-2019. YearSchools Block (in millions)High Needs Block (in millions)2013-14£125.0£17.12014-15£126.9£18.12015-16£130.4£18.42016-17£135.3£18.92017-18£136.1£22.62018-19£139.0£23.3

Schools

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each local authority are (i) academies and (ii) maintained schools.

Nadhim Zahawi: As of 28 November 2018, 31% of primary schools are academies and free schools across all local authorities. This figure is 74% for secondary schools.Table 1: Number and proportion of primary and secondary academies.  Percentage of primary schools that are academiesNumber of primary schools that are academiesPercentage of secondary schools that are academiesNumber of secondary schools that are academies31%525474%2521 A breakdown of information by local authority is available in the attached document.  



196881_Primary_and_secondary_academies_by_local_au
(Excel SpreadSheet, 36.54 KB)

Teachers: Qualifications

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what percentage of (a) religious education and (b) history lessons in state secondary schools are taught by teachers with no post A-level qualification in the subject.

Nick Gibb: In 2017, there were 118,200 hours of religious education taught in state funded secondary schools. Of these, 24.2% of hours were taught by a teacher with no relevant post A level qualification in religious education or a related subject such as philosophy. A ‘relevant post A level qualification’ is defined as a first degree or higher, Bachelor of education (BEd) degree, Postgraduate certificate of education (PGCE), Certificate of Education or another qualification at level 4 or above, which is in a discipline deemed relevant to that subject based on Joint Academic Coding System (JACS) codes.These figures relate to all qualified teachers in state funded secondary schools In 2017, there were 185,700 hours of history taught in state funded secondary schools. Of these, 8.8% of hours were taught by a teacher with no relevant post A level qualification in history or a related subject such as archaeology.These figures relate to all qualified teachers in state funded secondary schools.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Right to Buy Scheme

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to fully exempt Community Land Trusts and cohousing tenants from the Voluntary Right to Buy; and if he will make a statement.

Kit Malthouse: Residents of co-operatives are exempt from the Voluntary Right to Buy, and housing associations – including those partnering in community-led schemes – will have discretion not to sell certain homes. This can include homes built through a community land trust.Where a housing association exercises this discretion, the tenant will be offered an alternative property so that they have the same opportunity for home ownership as other tenants.Housing associations are professional organisations that operate according to sound commercial and social principles, and we would expect them to work with their local community on the operation of the voluntary agreement.We are currently running a large-scale pilot of the Voluntary Right to Buy in the Midlands, one aim of which is to test out the exemptions and portability policies.

Local Enterprise Partnerships: West Midlands

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to reply to the letter from Andy Street, Metro Mayor of the West Midlands, on proposed changes to the geography of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull local enterprise partnership; and if he will make a statement.

Jake Berry: The letter from Andy Street, Metro Mayor of the West Midlands, has been received. A response will be sent shortly.Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) have been integral to economic growth across England since their establishment in 2010. This Government remains committed to strengthening LEPs to deliver ambitious strategies for growth and build an economy which is fit for the future.

Department for Work and Pensions

Unemployment: Young People

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of youth unemployment.

Alok Sharma: The Department has not made an estimate of the overall costs of youth unemployment.The most recent data (July-September 2018) from the ONS Labour Force Survey shows that youth unemployment is at a near record low of 476,000 – down by nearly 50% (463,000) since the 2010 election.

Universal Credit: Northern Ireland

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment the Government has made of the effect on low-income families of the roll-out of universal credit throughout Northern Ireland.

Alok Sharma: The Department does not hold this information. Social Security is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland. The delivery of Universal Credit in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Communities, part of the Northern Ireland Executive.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animals: Exports

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on changing the Export Health Certificate system from a manual system to an e-certification system.

David Rutley: Defra are committed to making our services as easy as possible for our customers. As of December, Exporters and Official Veterinarians are able to download any current Export Health Certificate (EHC) online. In parallel, we are developing a new system for EHCs that is designed to allow the integration of e-certification in the future.

Coastal Erosion and Floods

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the 25 Year Environment Plan, published in January 2018, how he plans to measure progress against the 25-year environment plan target of making sure everyone is able to access the information they need to assess any risks to their lives and livelihoods, health and prosperity posed by flooding and coastal erosion.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: This reply relates to England only. The Environment Agency’s long term flood risk assessment for England allows people to look up their postcode to understand the likelihood that their home or property might flood, the possible causes of flooding, and where to find advice on managing flood risk. This is available at the Flood Warning Information Service page of Gov.uk, https://flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk/long-term-flood-risk. To help people take action and to prepare for the risk of flooding the Environment Agency provides free flood warnings across England for flooding from rivers, the sea and groundwater. Over 1.4 million people are registered to this service which sends a message directly by voice message, text, or email when a flood warning is issued. Anyone can sign up by visiting the Environment Agency’s website, or by calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188. There is also a three-point flood plan which advises people on what to do when they receive a flood warning at https://flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk/what-to-do-in-a-flood. Further information on flood risk, current flood warnings, and river and sea levels can be found on the Environment Agency’s website.

Solid Fuels: Heating

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2018 to Question 194079; whether a comparative assessment of the PM 2.5 emissions generated per kwh for each fuel type burned (a) on an open domestic fire and (b) a non-Defra-exempt stove is being made in his consultation on the cleaner domestic burning of solid fuels and wood; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: As highlighted in my response to PQ 194079, the Government will take into account all factors that need to be considered in regulating the sale of the most polluting fuels. This includes the energy content of the fuels, the air quality benefits, and the impacts on business and households of switching to cleaner fuels.PM2.5 emissions generated per kwh will depend on the fuel, the appliance, how it is used and how it is installed. The range of stoves available on the market is so diverse and how they are installed and operated so varied, it is not feasible to undertake inferential analysis of the PM2.5 emissions generated per kwh for each fuel type burned on open fires and non-Defra-exempt stoves.

Home Office

Immigrants: Detainees

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many women are held in immigration detention in the UK.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office publish data on the number of people in detention as at the last day of each quarter, by sex. The latest data is available in table dt_11_q in the detention tables of Immigration statistics, year ending September 2018. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/758249/detention-sep-2018-tables.ods

Immigrants: Detainees

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of women in immigration detention.

Caroline Nokes: 95% of individuals liable for removal at any one time are managed within the community through immigration bail and regular reporting, rather than within an immigration removal centre. Alternatives to detention are not, of course, alternatives to case resolution, and our objective is to achieve better outcomes for migrants, meaning quicker resolution of their case whether the result is a grant of leave or the migrant’s departure (preferably voluntary) from the UK.The Home Secretary said - in his statement to parliament on 24 July introducing Stephen Shaw’s follow up report on immigration detention - that he had asked the Home Office to do more to explore alternatives to detention with faith groups, with non-governmental organisations and within communities. Working with UNHCR, a pilot scheme is being developed that will manage a number of women in the community who would otherwise be detained at Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre, meaning that rather than receiving support and care in an immigration removal centre, the women in question will get a programme of support and care in the community.

Slavery: Victim Support Schemes

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to provide additional funding to ensure the 2020 modern slavery victim care contract complies with the Human Trafficking Foundation's slavery and trafficking survivor care standards.

Victoria Atkins: The Government is committed to introducing minimum standards of care in the new victim care contract.These standards will be monitored using an inspection regime, based on the Human Trafficking Foundation’s Slavery and Trafficking Survivor Care Standards. The tender of the new contract will include the standards and any costs associated will be incorporated as part of the contact procurement process.

Human Trafficking: Victim Support Schemes

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Home Office's national referral mechanism reform guidance published in October 2018 and the High Court judgement on AM & K versus SSHD, whether the plans to make the cuts proposed as part of the national referral mechanism reforms will still go ahead in February and March 2019.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Office has paused the staged implementation of the alignment of subsistence rates for potential victims of modern slavery with those received by asylum seekers, which was due to start in February 2019, whilst it considers the implication of the judgment in AM and K vs SSHD.We will work through the implications of the judgment in respect to our future approach to financial support, and will share further details as soon as we are able. The Home Office has immediately reinstated the top up paid to those in the Victim Care Contract who are also receiving support from the asylum support system, so that they receive a total of £65 per week whilst this work is carried out.We are committed to reforming the National Referral Mechanism to ensure that as many victims of modern slavery as possible

Refugees: Travel

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to support refugees who have to travel long distances for appointments with immigration officials.

Caroline Nokes: Those who have been granted refugee status are not required to report to the Home Office, or attend meetings with immigration officials, as refugees are granted a period of leave to remain for five years. Reporting conditions are only applied to those who have received an adverse decision on their application.

Immigrants: EU Nationals

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department has taken to provide assurance to (a) users and (b) employers on the security of documents stored on cloud services in relation to the IT system for applying for settled status.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office takes the security of all of our data extremely seriously, including digitised evidence provided by EU Settlement Scheme users. There are processes in place in the Home Office for the capturing and mitigation of risks and vulnerabilities to ensure appropriate control of our services. I can confirm this is the case for the EU Settlement SchemeAll Home Office systems including EU Exit applications undergo rigorous cyber strengthening prior to launch. This includes an independent security testing to ensure they are resilient to external attack.Our IT systems hosting platform include a number of mechanisms to detect and respond to malicious intrusions.All data is encrypted both in transit and at rest. Our IT staff are security cleared and data will only be accessed by those who have a valid business reason to access it. The Home Office regularly monitors the systems for abuse and misuse.

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of Windrush people that were held in immigration detention centres.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of Windrush people that participated in voluntary removal.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office wrote to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 21 August with the initial findings of the Historical Review of removals and detentions. Regular updates have been provided to the committee and this information is available in the library of the House. [14 people, out of the 164 identified by the Historical Review, were detained in an IRC. 17 people, out of the 164 identified by the Historical Review, were recorded as a voluntary departure].

Immigration: Windrush Generation

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of Windrush people that worked in the NHS who were (a) held in immigration detention centres and (b) deported to other countries.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of Windrush people that were veterans of the armed forces who were (a) held in immigration detention centres and (b) deported to other countries.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate he has made of the number of members of the Windrush generation who were (a) held in immigration detention centres and (b) deported to other countries who had (i) been teachers and (ii) held other educational positions in the UK.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate he has made of the number of members of the Windrush generation who were (a) held in immigration detention centres and (b) deported to other countries who had worked for public transport services in the UK.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office wrote to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 21 August with the initial findings of the Historical Review of removals and detentions and have provided regular updates to the committee. This correspondence is available in the library of the House. The department has not made any assessment of previous employment of those individuals identified by the review, and in many cases the department will not hold this information.

Deportation: Windrush Generation

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate he has made of the number of members of the Windrush generation who were deported to other countries who have since died; and what information he has on their former employment in the UK.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office wrote to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 21 August with the initial findings of the Historical Review of removals and detentions and have provided regular updates to the committee. This correspondence is available in the library of the House.The department has not made any assessment of previous employment of those individuals identified by the historical review, and in many cases the department will not hold this information.

Deportation: Windrush Generation

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate he has made of the number of members of the Windrush generation who were deported to other countries and have family members who are entitled to be in the UK but have been refused entry.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate he has made of the number of members of the Windrush generation who were deported to other countries and have since been refused entry to the UK.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office wrote to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 21 August with the initial findings of the Historical Review of removals and detentions and have provided regular updates to the committee.This correspondence is available in the library of the House. As set out in the letter to the Committee of 12 November, the department initially excluded all individuals with a “criminal case type” marker. We reviewed this approach to ensure we have not adopted too broad a definition and revised our methodology. However, individuals who have been deported following a criminal conviction in the UK continue to be excluded from the review.

Undocumented Workers: Windrush Generation

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of people from the Windrush generation who have lost their job because they could not provide the evidence required to demonstrate their right to remain in each of the last three years.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of people from the Windrush generation who have lost their home because they could not provide evidence to demonstrate their right to remain.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of people from the Windrush generation who could not obtain a mortgage because they could not provide the evidence to demonstrate their right to remain.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of members of the Windrush generation who were denied access to NHS treatment because they could not demonstrate their right to remain in the country.

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate he has made of the number of members of the Windrush generation who were unable to obtain a driver’s licence because they could not provide evidence of their right to remain in the country.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office wrote to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 21 August with the initial findings of the Historical Review of removals and detentions and have provided regular updates to the committee. This correspondence is available in the library of the House.Work is ongoing to review historical proactive compliant environment sanctions, for example where the Home Office has instigated the action taken by a partner of a third party to deny or revoke a service to an individual, or it has taken action to penalise a third party for employing or housing an unlawful migrant. The Home Office will report back to the Committee when this work is complete.However, many checks, such as right to rent and right to work, are applicable to everyone in the UK on a non-discriminatory basis. Checks are often conducted independently of the Home Office and so it is not possible for the Government to accurately estimate the number of individuals who have been impacted by these measures. In relation to those who may have lost jobs - information that is not automatically reported back to the Home Office - we anticipate that we will gain a greater understanding when we launch our compensation scheme.The Home Office has introduced additional safeguards to ensure those from the Windrush generation are not adversely affected by measures designed to protect benefits and services.

Places of Worship Security Funding Scheme

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2018 to Question 188021 on Places of Worship Security Funding Scheme, how many officials of his Department have been involved in visiting religious buildings.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2018 to Question 188021 on Places of Worship Security Funding Scheme, whether officials of other Government departments have been involved in (a) visiting religious buildings and (b) attending faith-based roundtables.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2018 to Question 188021 on Places of Worship Security Funding Scheme, which (a) mosques, (b) gurdwaras, (c) churches, (d) temples and (e) faith-based roundtables officials of his Department attended.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2018 to Question 188021 on Places of Worship Security Funding Scheme, whether (a) he and (b) Ministers of his Department have attended (i) religious buildings and (ii) meetings with religious representatives to discuss the Places of Worship Security Funding Scheme in 2018.

Victoria Atkins: Over the three years of the Places of Worship Security Funding Scheme, more than ten Home Office officials have visited religious buildings across the 3 years’ it has been running, alongside visits by Community Coordina-tors funded by the Department, and faith representatives. Officials from the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), have been involved with meetings of the Sikh Roundtable and the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, where the POW scheme has been promoted or discussed.The names of the places of religious worship visited by officials in relation to the Places of Worship scheme are exempt from release under Section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, on the grounds of the en-dangerment of the safety of individuals. However, officials have discussed the scheme at meetings of the Sikh Roundtable, the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, and Independent Advisory Group on Hate Crime. The Min-ister for Faith, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, was present to discuss the scheme at the Sikh Roundtable in July 2018.

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to give due consideration to the Public Sector Equality Duty in his response to the consultation on powers for dealing with unauthorised development and encampments, which closed on 15 June 2018.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Ministry of Justice, and the Home Office carried out a joint consultation on the effectiveness of powers for dealing with unauthorised development and encampments.All government departments have an ongoing responsibility to meet the Public Sector Equalities Duty (PSED) under the Equality Act 2010. As such, when formulating any policy changes following the consultation, ministers must have due regard to the three limbs of the PSED: (1) eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Act, (2) advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not, and (3) foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

Police and Crime Commissioners: Operating Costs

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance his Department provides to Police and Crime Commissioners on the proportion of their budget that should be used for the running of their offices.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government does not issue guidance to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) on the proportion of their budget that should be used for administration costs. Under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, it is the responsibility of PCCs to determine how each police area’s funding settlement is allocated, including setting the police force budget and the running of the PCC’s office.The 2011 Act specifies that PCCs must publish key information as prescribed by the Secretary of State. The Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) order 2011 (and amended in 2012) sets out what information must be published: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/3050/contents/madeThe publication of this information enables the local electorate to judge whether the PCC is making the best use of public money at the ballot box.Police and Crime Panels (PCPs) have the power to scrutinise the actions and decisions of PCCs and enable the public to hold them to account. They have oversight of the commissioner’s key documents, decisions and reports, and conduct the majority of their business in public, ensuring information is available to the electorate.

Care Leavers and Children in Care: Criminal Proceedings

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the resources required for the police effectively to implement the national protocol on reducing the unnecessary criminalisation of looked-after children and care leavers.

Mr Nick Hurd: The national protocol on reducing criminalisation of looked-after children and care leavers sets out best practice; implementing it does not place any new statutory burdens on the police or other agencies. The protocol was developed with the leaders of the relevant sectors including the National Police Chiefs’ Council and endorsed as a positive step forward.

Administration of Justice: International Cooperation

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on international co-operation on policing and justice of the UK leaving the EU .

Mr Nick Hurd: The government has published its assessment of the Future Security Part-nership (FSP) between the UK and the EU - ‘EU exit: an assessment of the security partnership’. It compares cooperation envisaged under the future UK-EU security partnership, as set out in the Political Declaration, with a no deal scenario.This publication can be found on Gov.ukhttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/759760/28_November_EU_Exit_-_Assessment_of_the_security_partnership__2_.pdf

UK Border Force

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to change the operation of the Border Force when the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Nokes: While we cannot comment on detailed planning, Government departments are working together across a range of complex issues to develop our future approach at the border.These options will be kept under review in light of negotiations with the EU. We will always ensure we have the resources and workforce we need to keep the border secure.

Northern Ireland Office

Local Growth Deals: Northern Ireland

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of growth deals on the economy of Northern Ireland.

John Penrose: Devolved Territory City Deals are locally developed proposals to address specific regional economic challenges that result in long term funding commitments jointly from UK Government, Devolved Government and local partners such as the Councils and Universities. The intention is that the initiatives taken forward will lever in significant private sector investment and deliver step changes in local economic productivity and growth.This Government has committed to a comprehensive and ambitious set of city deals across Northern Ireland and at Autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced a £350 million for a Belfast City Region Deal to boost investment and productivity, generating jobs, growth and prosperity, alongside the opening formal negotiations for a Derry/Londonderry and Strabane City Region Deal.The Belfast Region have estimated that their growth proposals could deliver almost 20,000 jobs, with an annual GVA impact of £470million and create a Belfast Region that is not just self-sufficient but a driver for a rejuvenated NI economy. Proposals for the Derry/ Londonderry and Strabane City region deal are currently under development by local partners and will also include an assessment on their potential effect on the economy of Northern Ireland.

Treasury

UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Steve Double: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made in developing the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF); and what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the publication of the planned public consultation on the UKSPF.

Elizabeth Truss: As set out by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government in July, the government will establish a UK Shared Prosperity Fund once the UK has left the European Union and EU Structural Funds. The Fund will tackle inequalities between communities by raising productivity, especially in those parts of our country whose economies are furthest behind.

Tonnage Tax

Karl Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the gross value added to the economy was from the tonnage tax scheme in each year since 2003-04.

Mel Stride: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

UK Trade with EU

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of UK GDP is from trade with the EU.

John Glen: As our largest trading partner, total trade with the EU was worth the equivalent of 30.4% of GDP in 2017. Within this, goods and services exports to the EU were 13.8% of GDP. Net trade in goods and services with the EU contributed 0.8 percentage points to GDP growth last year. However, this does not account for intermediate demand or the inputs of products, both domestic and imported, stemming from trade with the EU.

House of Commons Commission

House of Commons Chamber: Fire Prevention

Nia Griffith: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, the last occasion on which a fire evacuation drill was conducted in the Chamber of the House of Commons; and whether he plans to conduct such a drill in future.

Tom Brake: The House of Commons Commission has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

House of Commons: Food

John Spellar: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to his oral contribution answer of 29 November 2018, Official Report, column 403, what practical problems prevent the implementation of a buy British policy.

Tom Brake: The House of Commons Commission has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.